Armenia Politics

Watching the interplay between Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and opposition leader (and ex-President) Levon Ter-Petrosian is often like watching two men playing an intensive game of chess.

Sargsyan made a move yesterday, on the eve of yet another Ter-Petrosian rally in Yerevan, and it was all about good vibrations.

In April 27 comments, Sargsyan commended Ter-Petrosian's Armenian National Congress and friends for " ongoing rallies [and] speeches that are not aimed at splitting society, that are not aimed at developing the notions of smashing or destroying, [and] are aimed at shifting the political struggle to certain podiums," RFE/RL reported.

Three years ago, the government painted quite a different picture of the ANC and pals. In the past few weeks, though, with Middle East uprisings as a backdrop, the government has pledged a more thorough investigation of the police response to the 2008 demonstrations, and has granted the ANC access to Yerevan's Liberty Square for its April 28 rally.

One commentator noted that if Sargsyan grants all of the ANC's requests, the movement eventually "risks losing a significant part its supporters."

Sargsyan, notably, has kept his thoughts to himself. But his spokesperson, Armen Arzumanian, though, told PanArmenian.Net on February 1 that a bicameral parliament "is one of the possible suggestions [for constitutional reform], worth to be discussed on the same line with many others."

The nationalist Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutiun, an opposition party with strong Diaspora backing, also likes the idea.

But other Armenian politicians argue that there should be a limit to the Diaspora's influence.

“We stand for an honest and efficient implementation of the Diaspora in the development of Armenia and the Armenian world, rather than a direct effect on domestic legislative processes of the country,” opposition Heritage Party parliamentarian Larisa Alaverdian told ArmeniaNow.com.

The much larger Armenian National Congress, headed by ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosian, went a step further; it simply called the idea an "absurdity."

Karen Karapetian, the 47-year-old chief executive of ArmRosGazprom, a company partly owned by Russian energy giant Gazprom, breezed through the vote. Karapetian, a new face in politics, received the votes of 50 members from the 65-seat council, with one vote against. The remaining seats in the pro-government assembly are held by the opposition Armenian National Congress, which is boycotting the council.

The multi-pronged suit, billed “Armenian Citizens versus Robert Kocharian,” mainly focuses on ANC accusations against Kocharian for his handling of the deadly March 2008 violence that followed the election of current President Serzh Sargsyan. The 4,500-page suit, which includes reams of testimonies, video and audio evidence, was sent to The Hague some three weeks ago.

It is unclear, however, whether the International Criminal Court will launch a trial about the case. Armenia is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court; hence, critics say the complaint has little more than PR value. The ANC, though, seems to hope that the scale of the case would still warrant a full trial.